Wind machine for harvesting and gathering olives

ABSTRACT

An olive harvester has a nonrotatable outer cap, a rotatable inner cap which is driven by compressed air supplied to the outer cap and which generates a swirl through the olive tree below the inner cap which dislodges the olives so that they can be collected in a skirt which is fixed to the outer cap and surrounds the tree. A flexible collection pipe or sleeve at the bottom of the skirt permits the discharge of the olives to the exterior.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a national stage of PCT/PT00/00014 filed Aug. 10,1999 and based upon Portugese national application 102190 of Aug. 17,1998 under the International Convention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

At present, the mechanical harvesting of olives makes use of two kindsof agricultural machines. The first kind that will be called “vibrator”holds the olive tree by the trunk and causes its fruit—the olives—todetach by means of vibration and to fall down onto the ground, moreprecisely onto cloths placed around the olive tree. The second kind usesvertical poles that knock the olive tree horizontally. Such poles areseated vertically on a mechanical vibrating platform. The lateral poleknocking causes the fruits of the olive tree—the olives—to fallvertically onto the cloths placed on the ground around the tree to begathered afterwards.

In both kinds of machines, the gathering of the olives is an operationfollowing the mechanical operation of harvest. In both kinds of machinesthe physical action of the machine is applied to the olive tree which isshaken or knocked.

A search of the state of the art has revealed the existence of Portugesepatents No. 91416 and No. 96472 to Verdegiglio; No. 94709 to Luis G. M.Zoio and Johanna W. V. Mourik; the U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,146 to EricksonM. C. and the German patent DE 3006177 to (PIRE) Industrie Pirelli SPA.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The machine of the present invention differs from any other kind ofmachine in use. It does not exert any physical action upon the tree. Itproduces a directed and controlled air stream of the swirl type, thatcauses the natural fall of the olives into a bag or skirt that belongsto the machine itself. The olives pass through the collecting pipe ofthe skirt into a storage container or tank that then convey the olivesdirectly to a depot or olive press The gathering is made by the machineof the present invention.

The machine of the present invention can also be useful to harvest otherkinds of fruits and even for further purposes. In effect, advantage canbe taken of the generation of the low intensity swirl, for example, forthe treatment of other species of trees and against any kind of plagues,by spraying the trees with any kind of suitable product, thus increasingtheir economical value.

The main element of the apparatus of the invention is comprised by a setof two concentric spherical caps for condensing the wind and orientingits distribution:

The external fixed spherical cap is provided with a holding hoop(externally held by a lifting machine of the crane type), with openingsfor supplying compressed air conveyed through a feed pipe to its inside,supplied from a motor driven air compressor. This spherical cap can bemade in hard aluminum or any other suitable material.

In the external spherical cap are embedded telescopic bars for supportof the skirt.

The internal spherical cap is movable around a fixing angle thatconnects it to the external spherical cap leaving between them a spacefor receiving the compressed air.

The internal spherical cap has a vane set in its external surface and avane set in its internal surface, the external surface vanes having alarger size than the internal surface vanes.

Further to the vanes the internal spherical cap has slots or slitsconveniently directed for the generation of the swirl. The internalspherical cap can be made in molded brass or plastics.

Attached all around to the outer periphery of the external spherical capby means of holding straps is a skirt which can be made of a suitabletransparent material, such as a transparent polyvinyl or other suitablematerial. The skirt is disposed closed all around the tree, forenclosing the swirl for sufficient time to cause the fruits (olives) tofall. The fruits are conveyed to the exterior of the skirt by means of aflexible collection pipe or sleeve.

The holding straps will have eyelets that will direct the skirtgathering threads while changing it from the tree.

Secondary Parts

The apparatus can cooperate with the following secondary parts:

A motor driven air compressor with controlled variable intensity flow.

A lifting machine (crane) for lifting and holding the two spherical capsand the skirt set over the tree—“olive tree”—and carrying the compressedair feed pipe for the spherical caps.

A wheeled stable platform (trailer) which will carry along the olivetree plantation the motor driven compressor, the lifting machine, theskirt and spherical caps set and the olive storage tank.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The appended drawing shows a non-limiting example of the machineaccording to the invention:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the external spherical cap with thetelescopic bars (top view);

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the internal spherical cap (top view);

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the spherical cap set;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the internal spherical cap (bottomview); and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the bars and skirt set in the expandedcondition.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION

As can be seen from FIG. 1, the upper or external cap 1 of the oliveharvester has a generally spherical shape and is provided withtelescopic bars 8 which can support the skirt 9 (FIG. 5), a plurality offeed pipes 4 which communicate with the openings or passages 3 whichopen into the interior of the cap and holding elements in the form ofspools or straps 11 which enable the cap 1 and hence the olive harvesterto be supported from a crane. The connecting axle 5, which rotatablysupports the internal or inner cap 2, can also be seen in FIG. 1.

From FIG. 2, it will be apparent that the inner cap 2, which isconnected by the axle 5 with the outer cap 1, has on its upper surfaceouter vanes 6 and is formed with slots or slits 12 opening into theinterior of the inner cap 2 to produce the swirl which dislodges theolives from the tree below the cap 2. The inner cap 2 also is formedwith ball bearings 13 and balls 14 facilitating rotation of the innercap within the outer cap.

The assembly of the two caps is shown in FIG. 3 and the rotatability ofthe inner cap is represented by the arrow.

FIG. 4 shows the underside of the inner cap 2 with its inner vanes 7 andthe slots or slits 12.

From FIG. 5, it will be apparent that the skirt, supported by thetelescopic bars from an upper holding hoop, can be formed near itsbottom with a gathering flexible sleeve or pipe 10, also referred to asa collection pipe, to convey the olives to the storage tank andsimultaneously the compressed air to the outside.

The set is placed over the tree by means of the lifting machineextending the telescopic bars 8 embedded in the external spherical cap 1such that the area covered by the spherical caps and skirt set can beenlarged to the dimension suitable to the crown of the tree. Bars 8 areautonomously adjustable according to the irregularities of the crowns.The skirt 9 is then held and fastened onto the trunk of the treedirecting the sleeve to the storage tank.

The spherical caps 1 and 2 are fed with compressed air having controlledvariable pressure. When the air impacts on the outer vanes 6 of theinternal spherical cap 2, this will rotate thus increasing the airpressure and the air is conveyed to the inside through the slots 12.Then the air is spread and directed in a swirl by the other inner vanes7 of smaller size.

The swirl or windstorm thus generated inside the skirt causes the fruits(olives) to detach and fall down onto the base of the skirt 9 thenleading them to the storage tank by means of the flexible pipe or sleeve10 together with the already dissipating swirl that will leave to theoutside.

Flow control will produce the swirl or windstorm in quantity, velocityand strength adequate to the harvesting operation.

The harvesting operation can be conducted by two men only.

What is claimed is:
 1. An olive harvester comprising: a nonrotatingouter cap adapted to be positioned over an olive tree for harvestingolives therefrom, said outer cap having at least one pipe opening intoan interior of said cap for introducing compressed air to the interiorof said cap; a rotatable inner cap below said outer cap and concentrictherewith, said inner cap being connected to said outer cap by an axleenabling rotation of said inner cap relative to said outer cap, saidinner cap being formed on an upper portion thereof with vanes enablingrotation of said inner cap by said compressed air, said inner cap havingopenings in a form of slits or slots for passing compressed airdownwardly and creating a swirl of air against said tree for dislodgingolives therefrom; and a skirt connected to said outer cap and extendingdownwardly therefrom to surround said tree and collect the olivesdislodged by said swirl of air.
 2. The olive harvester defined in claim1, further comprising telescopingly extendable bars on said outer capfor supporting said skirt.
 3. The olive harvester defined in claim 1wherein said skirt is formed with a holding hoop for securing said skirtto said outer cap and with a flexible pipe for conveying collectedolives to an exterior of said sleeve.
 4. The olive harvester defined inclaim 1 wherein said outer cap is provided with holding elements forsupporting the olive harvester from a crane.
 5. The olive harvesterdefined in claim 1 wherein said outer cap has a plurality of passagesopening into the interior of said outer cap for supplying compressed airthereto.